“When we will be at the yacht?” asks my five-year old daughter, Ellie. “Yurt,” I correct her, smiling.  “In a few minutes, we’re almost there.  Can you smell the salt air?” And then we are there.  There being Cape Disappointment State Park, a wild outcropping

She grimaces, groans and slowly shakes her head back and forth. Nooooooo. “Sorry. I just don’t take good pictures,” she says. “You won’t be taking them. I will.”  I joke.  “Besides, you know the autumn leaves are SO your colors,” I remind her cheerfully. Bingo. She

Shannon and Kirby’s “jeans friendly” wedding took place under an ornate white tent on an organic farm in Monroe, Washington. I hadn’t met the bride or groom before that day and was a guest at their nuptials by association: my husband is friend and colleague

If the seasons were a symphony, surely autumn would be the crescendo. The green of the leaves begin to turn and change color, a few here and there, until gradually the landscape becomes an impressionistic painting, dotted with browns, splattered with brilliant yellows and burnt

The first time I met 4-year old Charlie was in the swimming pool.  He smiled at me with sparkly blue eyes and I swam over to get to know him better. My girls and I played with him while I chatted with his mom, Katie,

Few things rival the grand entrance of a new baby into the world. Newborn humans are amazing creatures: weak and vulnerable, yet strong and resilient. I remember when my own girls were new babies, all I wanted to do was snuggle them and gaze into

She sees the art in everything.  We enter the hotel lobby and she stops.  Transfixed by the multi-colored tile border encircling the room, she studies the complex pattern while I go to the front desk to get our room key. She routinely processes details most

The Chinese philosopher Confucius (or some would argue Lao-tzu) said: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I’m pretty sure that sage observation was meant to encourage us, but today it only makes me feel tired. I think it’s the thousand

It was high noon, full sun; no shade. I was walking around the lake with my Canon 5D Mark ii slung over my shoulder and saw this beautiful little girl playing lakeside with her family. Her joyful, sweet personality was so magnetic I found myself

On a recent family camping trip, after a couple of days of hiking and beach combing in chilly, rainy weather, we all pined for a hot shower.  ”How much for a shower?” I asked my 9-year-old daughter, the person in our family who notices such